Mother says marks on baby were mistaken for abuse

Mongolian spots often mistaken for bruises, common on children of color.

Mongolian spots often mistaken for bruises, common on children of color.

December 04, 2005

A misunderstanding about birthmarks caused authorities to take Amber Clayton's children away from her for a couple of days last week. It was a nightmare for Clayton, a white Mishawaka resident who has three children, two of them biracial. All three children were placed temporarily with a relative while authorities checked for possible abuse. Prosecutor Michael Dvorak defended the handling of the case. So did Terri Zornig, intake supervisor for Child Protective Services, and Charles Smith, director of the local office of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. The inquiry by authorities focused on the 3-month-old boy, Paul. He was born with Mongolian spots, a discoloration often found on the lower backs of newborns, especially babies of color. They can be mistaken for bruises. Clayton said her aunt was taking care of the children on Nov. 27, while Clayton worked at a local Kmart. The children were going to spend the night at the aunt's house. The aunt took the children to church with her that night. Clayton said a woman in the church's nursery saw the marks on Paul's back and suspected child abuse. She called the police, who contacted Child Protective Services. Clayton said her aunt was allowed to keep the children while the case was investigated. But the aunt didn't notify Clayton about the problem. Clayton said she didn't realize anything was wrong until the next morning, when her aunt failed to return the children to her. Repeated phone calls to the aunt's house were unanswered, she said. She eventually learned that CPS was investigating her for suspected child abuse, Clayton said, but nobody at CPS would talk to her. She said she called the agency four times and each time was told that someone would call her back. CPS later told her that a caseworker tried to call her at Nancy J. Sulok Commentary Nancy J. Sulok is a Tribune columnist.